Health Care

Hidden Danger: How The GOP Could Kill Health Reform Without Repealing It

Brian Beutler | July 23, 2010, 1:00PM

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

For all the GOP chest puffing about reversing the new health care law, a full repeal, to put it generously, is a long-term project. Even if they retake the House in November, they almost certainly won't retake the Senate. Even if they retake both the House and the Senate, they'd still have to contend with the filibuster. And even if the filibuster weren't an issue, they'd still have to contend with a Presidential veto. All of that adds up to long odds, and they know it.

But if they do retake the House, even by a slim margin, they could still make a great deal of mischief, effectively sentencing Obama's history-making accomplishment to death by 1000 cuts.

"If Republicans are rewarded with control of the House of Representatives, we will use every means at our disposal to take that case to the American people, and repeal Obamacare lock stock and barrel," said House GOP Conference Chair Mike Pence. "We'll also use whatever means are available to delay implementation of Obamacare."

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Financial Reform

Barney Frank Presses Obama To Appoint Elizabeth Warren To Head Consumer Bureau (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | July 23, 2010, 12:12PM

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)

The Democrats' top point man on Wall Street reform is pressing President Obama -- hard -- to appoint Elizabeth Warren to head the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In an appearance on MSNBC, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank threw his full support to Warren and warned Obama that, unlike other disappointments, he'd be held directly accountable if the nomination goes to somebody else.

"It is essential to the bill and very, very important that Elizabeth Warren be appointed [to head the consumer financial protection bureau]," Frank said.

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LA-SEN

Internal Dem Poll Has Vitter, Melancon In Dead Heat

Brian Beutler | July 22, 2010, 4:05PM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA)

Democrats are circulating an internal polling memo out of Louisiana that finds Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) in a dead heat with David Vitter in the race for Vitter's Senate seat.

"The race for Louisiana's U.S. Senate seat has undergone a fundamental shift in the past few weeks," the memo reads. "Vitter's mishandling of the [a recent scandal] and the emergence of a strong Republican primary challenger are new, dramatic hurdles to Vitter's already imperiled re-election prospects. Charlie Melancon's active role during the oil spill has provided him with a platform to demonstrate his strong leadership on behalf of Louisiana voters on a statewide platform. The head-to-head vote with Charlie Melancon is now a dead-heat, fifty percent of voters prefer someone new to another Vitter term, and voter perceptions of Vitter are tanking as the electorate continues to warm to Melancon."

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Climate Change

Dems Abandon Comprehensive Energy Legislation

Brian Beutler | July 22, 2010, 3:13PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

Light it on fire, and let its carbon pollution soar into the sky unrestricted: climate change legislation is dead.

At a press conference this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), the Democrats' top climate and energy negotiator, acknowledged officially, and with obvious disappointment, that they lack the votes to pass legislation limiting carbon pollution, and that forthcoming energy legislation will be extremely narrow, in a bid to overcome a GOP filibuster.

"Many of us want to do a thorough comprehensive [climate and energy] bill that creates jobs, breaks our addiction to foreign oil, and curbs pollution," Reid said. "Unfortunately at this time we don't have a single Republican to work with in achieving this goal. For me it's terribly disappointing and it's also very dangerous. So the President, Senator Kerry and I and others, large numbers of my caucus will continue to reach out to Republicans and work with environmental and energy committees, communities, to garner the support we need to move forward on a much larger more comprehensive bill."

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Financial Reform

Geithner To GOP On Repealing Wall Street Reform: Bring It On

Brian Beutler | July 22, 2010, 11:14AM

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has a simple message for House Republicans threatening to repeal or gut one of President Obama's top legislative achievements: I am calling your bluff.

At a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters this morning, Geithner dismissed GOP leaders who say they'll gum up the implementation Wall Street reform if they retake the House this November, calling their threats "inconceivable."

"The reason why this bill became law was because Republicans decided they could not block it," Geithner said in response to a question from TPMDC. "That it was untenable to block it. Because they did not want to be in the position of saying they looked at a system that produced this level of disaster for the American economy -- with a system that did not work, did not serve corporate America, businesses across the country -- they did not want to be in the position of blocking change."

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Timothy Geithner

Geithner: Warren 'Would Be A Very Strong Leader' Of Consumer Bureau

Brian Beutler | July 22, 2010, 10:10AM

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Amid reports that he's actively sought to block progressive darling Elizabeth Warren from being appointed to head a soon-to-be-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sung her praises to reporters today. But when pressed, he stopped short of endorsing her or saying that her nomination would please him.

"It's important to recognize that she is, I think, one of the most effective advocates for [financial] reform in the country," Geithner said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning. "She has enormous credibility.... She would be a very strong leader of this bureau, but that's a choice the President will have to make."

Geithner added that he'd not yet made an official recommendation to President Obama, but suggested one will be coming soon.

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Kent Conrad

Conrad: GOP Tax Cut Plan 'A Formula For The Decline Of The United States'

Brian Beutler | July 22, 2010, 10:06AM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Has Kent Conrad done an about face and become a supporter of the Republican plan to endlessly extend tax cuts for the rich? Far from it.

"The Republicans' proposal to me is a formula for the decline of the United States," Conrad said last night in response to a question from TPMDC.

Conrad is among the only Senators whose hawkish rhetoric on deficits closely matches his voting record, and he surprised many -- even senior members of his own party -- when he was quoted widely supporting a continuation of the Bush tax cuts, including for high income earners.

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John Boehner

Boehner's Recipe For Creating Jobs: Do Nothing

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2010, 3:54PM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

In a meeting with several reporters this afternoon, House Minority Leader John Boehner outlined the top three measures he'd pursue if he becomes Speaker of the House next Congress to create new jobs. But, those who thought he'd outline specific programs and how they would create jobs were disappointed with a familiar litany of wish-list items: repeal health care reform, eschew climate legislation, and renew the Bush tax cuts.

In other words, repeal a program that largely hasn't yet taken effect; prevent new legislation that is also not in effect; and keep a current tax structure in place. Step four: profit. Or jobs.

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Chet Traylor

LA Paper Endorses Traylor, Will Not 'Repeat Allegations' Of More Vitter Scandals

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2010, 2:06PM

Senate candidate Chet Traylor (R-LA) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

A rural newspaper in Louisiana has endorsed Chet Traylor -- rival to Sen. David Vitter in the Louisiana Republican primary -- to win the party's nomination. And in so doing they casually raise the possibility that there are more Vitter scandals yet to be exposed.

"It is not our intention to revisit Vitter's mistakes as a means to follow the lead of the out-of-touch media elite in condemning Vitter at every turn," write the editors of the Concordia Sentinel. "We will not engage in a rumor mongering campaign either by repeating allegations that another "scandal" involving Vitter's personal life will surface soon."

How's that for subtlety?

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Steny Hoyer

Dems And GOPers Spar Over Timing Of Unemployment Benefits Extension

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2010, 1:46PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

The good news is that unemployment benefits will soon be restored for millions of out of work Americans. The bad news is that it won't happen until another round of Beltway yammering comes to a close.

Democrats are taking up their megaphones, hammering Republicans for -- yet again -- forcing a delay in passage of unemployment benefits.

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Barack Obama

Obama Signs Wall Street Reform Into Law

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2010, 11:49AM

President Barack Obama

After several pen strokes, and plenty of pomp, the Wall Street reform bill became law this afternoon. At signing ceremony at DC's Ronald Reagan building, President Obama declared "These reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history," adding that "unless your business relies on cutting corners or bilking customers, you have nothing to fear from reform."

Now the legislation must be implemented, which will be no small task. Some of the bills provisions are subject to years-long study by regulators before they become binding. Others are intentionally delayed for a variety of reasons. And still more simply take months to build up the capacity to enforce. At the White House yesterday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin told reporters he expects the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be running autonomously within a year.

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Financial Reform

Signs Point To Tough Haul For A Potential Elizabeth Warren Nomination

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2010, 8:56AM

Elizabeth Warren, Chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP

Progressive pressure on President Obama to appoint Elizabeth Warren to head a soon-to-be-created consumer financial protection bureau has reached a fever pitch. But in a troubling sign for her supporters, the White House is remaining mum, and key senators aren't rallying to her defense. In some cases quite the opposite.

"Elizabeth can be a terrific nominee but the question is, is she confirmable? And there is a serious question about that," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd during an interview on NPR Monday.

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Health Care

Republicans Plan To Increase Deficits By Repealing Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | July 20, 2010, 4:32PM

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Republicans are at pains these days to present themselves as the party of fiscal austerity. They're also at pains to advertise themselves as the party that will repeal (or repeal and replace) the Democrats' new health care law.

The problem for them is that those two platforms are basically mutually exclusive. If Republicans attempt to repeal the health care bill, they'll run headlong into the Congressional Budget Office, which found that the health care bill reduces deficits by over $100 billion over its first 10 years. Repeal that, and Republicans will have to raise taxes or cut spending to keep from driving up the deficit they decry. Or they could simply ignore Congressional scorekeepers -- which is what top Republicans seem intent on doing.

"We all know that it's going to increase the deficit," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at his weekly press availability, in response to a question from TPMDC.

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David Vitter

Louisiana Republicans To Choose Between Two Family Values Conservatives

Brian Beutler | July 20, 2010, 1:06PM

Senate candidate Chet Traylor (R-LA) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

If you're a political candidate, sleeping with your estranged stepson's estranged wife, it's helpful if you can fall back on an excuse like "well, at least she's not one of several prostitutes."

And, indeed, that's the fallback position Chet Traylor is left with today, only a month to go before Louisiana Republicans will face the decision of whether Traylor or incumbent Senator David Vitter will be the GOP candidate in November. The Springer-esque details are laid out in a News Star article today and, while they certainly harm Traylor's reputation as a scandal-free alternative to Vitter, they don't involve prostitutes, or knife attacks against women. So, there's that.

The time line is as follows:

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Republicans

Pence To Join Bachmann's Tea Party Caucus

Brian Beutler | July 19, 2010, 4:05PM

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)

Michele Bachmann's freshly minted Tea Party Caucus has its first member of GOP leadership: Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence.

At a press availability this afternoon, Pence was enthusiastic. "You betcha," Pence said when asked if he'd join.

"I come out of a background -- I was chairman of the Republican Study Committee, I was chairman of...the House Conservative Caucus," he added. My hope is that this Tea Party caucus...will be an avenue for bringing some of the energy and the enthusiasm and the focus that I've seen, from the National March on Washington where I spoke on 9/12, to traveling around Indiana and all around the country, deeper into the well of Congress.

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George W. Bush

Cornyn: George W. Bush Stock Rising (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | July 19, 2010, 12:24PM

Democrats were already pretty pleased with the fact that NRCC chairman Pete Sessions pushed for a return to Bush era policies over the weekend. Now they have more ammunition. On C-SPAN's Newsmakers yet, NRSC chairman John Cornyn went a step further.

"Look, I think President Bush's stock has gone up a lot since he left office," Cornyn said. "People appreciate his resolve and commitment in the face of a national security threat like 9/11. He had his challenges no doubt. We have learned a lot about things we could have done better as Republicans in terms of fiscal responsibility...I think a lot of people are looking back with a little more -- with more fondness on President Bush's administration, and I think history will treat him well."

Looks like both Democrats and Republicans want the 2010 elections to be a referendum on the bush administration. Video below the fold.

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David Vitter

Fox Neglects To Ask Vitter About Scandal, Primary Challenge In 10 Minute Segment (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | July 19, 2010, 11:32AM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

It's exceedingly rare these days for Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to voluntarily face the media, fearful he might have to answer uncomfortable questions about his former aide Brent Furer, and whether his most recent scandal is hurting him in his primary against conservative Chet Traylor.

But all bets are off when it comes to Fox News, where Vitter can be in the hot seat for 10 minutes and face precisely zero questions about any of his pressing political controversies.

The segment was dedicated to the Gulf oil spill, so it's not as if all topics were on limits except ones that make Vitter uncomfortable. But given how unusual it is for Vitter to submit to an interview it's a big missed opportunity for host Chris Wallace not to set aside a couple minutes to make Vitter squirm...unless those were the ground rules.

2010 elections

GOPers And Dems Agree: 2010 Should Be A Referendum On Bush

Brian Beutler | July 19, 2010, 8:50AM

Sen. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and President Barack Obama

Republicans and Democrats alike seem content to let the November elections hinge on a question the answer to which once seemed obvious to voters: Was the Bush era good for the country?

Though for most of President Obama's tenure Republicans were eager to run away from that question, they now act as though the answer makes them bulletproof. With the economy still in crisis, and polls showing Republicans poised to pick up many seats this November, GOP leaders have found the nerve to explicitly argue that what the country needs is a return to the same policies that triggered country's woes in the first place.

"We need to go back to the exact same agenda that is empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminishing it," said NRCC chairman Pete Sessions on "Meet the Press" Sunday morning.

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